Israel Adesanya legal battle: UFC middleweight pleads guilty to DUI case, court grants discharge without conviction

Israel Adesanya has managed to avoid serving any jail time after being found guilty of driving under the influence. The UFC star's lawyer argued that jail time would have derailed the trajectory of his exceptional career as a mixed martial artist. Furthermore, Adesanya himself pled guilty to the charge.

Given his lawyer's argument and his own decision to take responsibility for his actions, 'The Last Stylebender' has avoided three months of imprisonment and a $4500 fine. Instead, he has been ordered to pay $1500 to a charity, barred from driving for six months, and enroll himself in an anti-drunk driving program.

The news was initially reported by the New Zealand Herald.

The drunk-driving incident itself stems from a traffic stop on Aug. 19, 2023, in Auckland Central. He was found to be driving with 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, with readings over 80 milligrams rendering one eligible for criminal charges.

Like several other UFC stars, Adesanya has escaped the situation without any serious jail time and will now be held to a higher standard of behavior. While controversial, he is widely regarded as one of MMA's most well-known representatives, and fans will be eager for his octagon return.

Adesanya himself, meanwhile, will look to wash off the bitter taste of his lopsided loss to Sean Strickland upon his return, whenever that may come.

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Israel Adesanya's championship reign

Israel Adesanya first captured the UFC middleweight title from Robert Whittaker with an emphatic knockout at UFC 243. In doing so, he unified the divisional title, as he had previously held the interim strap. He followed his impressive win over 'The Reaper' with a widely-panned stinker against Yoel Romero.

Check out Israel Adesanya's win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in the clip below:

While Adesanya won, it was a low-volume affair that did neither man any favors in the eyes of the fans. Thus, Adesanya's second title defense saw him make a statement when he dominantly TKO'd Paulo Costa within two rounds. After an unsuccessful light heavyweight detour, he returned to 185 pounds.

He subsequently defended his middleweight title against Marvin Vettori, 'The Reaper' in a rematch, and Jared Cannonier. His reign came to an abrupt end at UFC 281 when Alex Pereira TKO'd him. While he recaptured the title from 'Poatan' in a rematch, he subsequently lost it to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.